Like so many before them, Jordan had come to California to chase a dream. And for nearly an hour on Monday evening, that fantasy of a maiden World Cup victory looked like becoming reality. A deft finish from Nizar Al-Rashwan had put Al-Nashama (the Chivalrous Ones) into a first-half lead against Algeria at the Bay Area’s Levi’s Stadium, an advantage they held well into the second period. Alas for Jordan, their night ended like that of a Gold Rush miner who let his nuggets slip from his pan. Two set-piece goals from Algeria gave the 2019 African champions a 2-1 win, eliminating Jordan from the tournament with a game remaining.
The three points move Algeria into third place in Group J, trailing their final group opponents Austria on goal difference. Jordan, meanwhile, will take on defending world champions Argentina– who clinched the group with this result– on Saturday playing for nothing but pride.
While some commentators had cited this fixture as one of the World Cup’s most lackluster ahead of the tournament, the pre-match atmosphere around Levi’s Stadium was festive. Both Jordan and Algeria were backed by large contingents in the stands, each set of supporters trying to outroar the other as the lineups were announced on the big screen. The two countries’ fans were joined by neutrals in an impressive array of soccer shirts: Mexican green and American Waldo stripes were a frequent sight, alongside Dutch orange, Brazilian yellow, and the inevitable ‘Messi 10’ and ‘Ronaldo 7’ strips.
Both Jordan and Algeria made two changes to the teams that fell short against Austria and Argentina respectively in their opening group game. Algeria manager Vladimir Petković restored veteran Riyad Mahrez, a five-time Premier League winner with Leicester and Manchester City, to the right wing, while Ramiz Zerrouki was favored to Nabil Bentaleb in holding midfield. It was an Algerian lineup drawn heavily from the country’s extensive diaspora. Between two and three million people with at least one Algerian parent are estimated to live in France, and six of them were on the pitch at kickoff on Monday evening. Joining them were Zerrouki (an Amsterdam native), right-back Rafik Belghali (born in Belgium) and creative maestro Ibrahim Maza (brought up in Berlin), leaving just two Algeria-born players in the starting eleven.
Algeria enjoyed the brunt of possession in the opening stages, as a lovely peach-colored sunset fell over the coastal hills to the west of the ground. Jordan boss Jamal Sellami had set his team up in a compact mid-block with five defenders, which Petković tried to counter by posting Belghali and Rayan Aït-Nouri– his two fullbacks– high up the pitch to create surpluses out wide. Early on, though, the Desert Foxes were rather listless on the ball, lacking the zip to get behind Jordan’s ranks of red shirts. It was Sellami’s side who registered the game’s first shot on target. On the counter, Jordan’s star man Musa Al-Tamari dribbled thirty yards and exchanged a quick one-two with Ehsan Haddad before whipping an effort right at Luca Zidane in the Algeria goal. Jordan had shown themselves capable of striking on the counter in their meeting with Austria, and they carried a threat again here.
Algeria began to ask more questions of the Jordanian backline as the first-half water break approached. Twenty minutes in Mahrez, playing in the inside-right channel, darted behind his marker to latch onto Hicham Boudaoui’s lofted pass from midfield, taking the ball down daintily with his left foot before a heavy touch from his right boot denied him the chance to shoot. Less than a minute later, a supple Algerian attack saw Maza in space on the left; his sharp cutback found Farès Chaïbi, whose attempt from the edge of the box was blocked.
Mahrez had another chance to put the Desert Foxes in front just beyond the half-hour mark. Again it was a long ball from Boudaoui which the 35-year-old– now playing his club soccer at Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia– got on the end of, putting him one-on-one with Yazeed Abulaila. Mahrez looked destined to notch his first World Cup goal, but Abulaila made himself big, diverting the Algeria captain’s toe-poke out for a corner. The Jordan fans had been chanting their goalkeeper’s name since the pre-match warmups, and those cries rose to a crescendo after Abulaila’s big stop.
There was soon even more for the Al-Nashama faithful to shout about. An errant pass from Zerrouki gave Jordan the ball in a dangerous area on the left, where Mohannad Abu Taha pulled the ball back for Al-Tamari. His backheel reached the unmarked Al-Rashdan, who took an instinctive shot with the side of his boot which Zidane got a hand to but could not repel. As Al-Rashdan, a journeyman midfielder who now plays in Qatar, sprinted towards the corner in ecstasy, the Jordanian supporters at Levi’s Stadium went wild. Just being at their first World Cup was a treat; now, they had a real chance to win a game.
The Desert Foxes had their work cut out for them. At halftime, Petković made a tactical switch, hauling off the midfielder Boudaoui for big center-forward Nadhir Benbouali. It was a change borne out of desperation. Failure to score would mean Algeria were staring down the barrel of a disappointing early exit, with even victory over Austria perhaps insufficient to reach the Round of 32.
The change gave Algeria more authority in attack. Maza, who in the first half had been closely man-marked by Noor Al-Rawabdeh, was given more freedom to roam in the second, and began to press his stamp on the game. Eight minutes after the resumption, the Bayer Leverkusen starlet hit a stinging drive which drew a save from Abulaila; shortly after, he dribbled into the box from midfield before blasting a shot over.
Abulaila was keeping Jordan’s noses in front, but he was powerless to stop Algeria’s equalizer. It came from a corner, swung in by Mahrez towards the six-foot-three Benbouali. The Győr forward rose highest above four red jerseys and flicked his header into the far corner, leaving the Jordan defenders to look at each other in disbelief.
Algeria continued coming forward in search of a winner. Abulaila held Chaïbi’s rasping drive, but the Foxes would sniff their way in front eight minutes from time from another corner. This time it was Anis Hadj Moussa, the Feyenoord man who replaced Mahrez, to take, his inswinging cross bouncing off a clutch of players before falling into unoccupied space about three yards from goal. Time seemed to stand still momentarily as Amine Gouiri burst towards the loose ball, nipping ahead of Abu Taha and pushing it past Abulaila for the goal.
Al-Nashama were broken, never looking like they were going to find a dramatic late equalizer in the time that remained. Their meeting with Messi and friends in Dallas on Saturday will be their final game at their first World Cup. For Algeria, their tournament now has new life.
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